Turn Clocks Back Tonight

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Much of the country will get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, when Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends and clocks are turned back an hour.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Much of the country will get an extra hour of sleep this weekend, when Daylight Saving Time (DST) ends and clocks are turned back an hour. It happens at 2am Sunday, so get your clocks back before you go to bed tonight.

The dates marking the beginning and end of daylight time have changed as Congress has passed new statutes.President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST in the United States, called “War Time” during World War II from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945.*

In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed a law extending DST by one month as of 2007. As of 2007, daylight time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. **

On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time (which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time). On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time (which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time). These dates were established by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

There are exceptions. Most of Arizona and all of Hawaii do not observe DST.

The benefits of the longer summer days are still being debated. Many advocates of the change believe longer daylight hours have lead to fewer traffic accidents, more time outdoors for physical activity, and reduces the demand for electricity and increases energy efficiency. Other studies suggest traffic accidents and even the incidence of heart attacks go up right after a time change.

Opponents like standardtime.com believe the country should pick a time and go with it year around.

This is also the weekend fire safety experts urge you to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. As the temperatures cool and heating sources are used, the number of house fires typically rises.Space heaters account for about one-third of home heating fires and 80 percent of home heating fire deaths annually, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

According to the NFPA, heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths, with almost half of these fires occurring in the months of December, January and February.